Beer fans must be very strong now. The breweries have not ruled out another increase in beer prices. The price in restaurants and supermarkets has already increased in recent months. But that was just the beginning. At least when it comes to Stefan Fritsche. The deputy head of the Berlin-Brandenburg brewery association and managing director of the Neuzelle monastery brewery warned in the “Bild” of a renewed price increase for beer. “If breweries and restaurateurs pass on their additional costs in full to the consumer, by the end of this year we’ll be at 7.50 euros for half a liter of beer,” said Fritsche.
This will probably be too expensive for many customers. Therefore, many breweries are now threatened with the end. Fritsche therefore assumes that the brewery is dying. That’s why the beer boss sounds the alarm! There is a threat of brewery deaths “across the board”. There is no doubt that they are facing the “biggest challenge in German brewing history”. Now Fritsche has also made politics responsible. He calls for a beer summit in the Chancellery so that “Germany’s most important cultural asset does not die out.”
However, the managing director of the Neuzelle monastery brewery is not alone in his warning. Even the head of the Brauerbund, Holger Eichele, makes no secret of the fact that the breweries will not survive if beer prices continue to rise. For the past three years, the company has been working permanently in crisis mode. After the corona pandemic with lockdowns, the industry is now also struggling with the energy crisis and rising costs.
In addition to the energy crisis and the aftermath of the corona pandemic, disrupted supply chains are also a major problem. Electricity and gas alone are struggling with price increases of 750 percent! After all, beer sales increased by 3.2 percent from January to November 2022 compared to 2021.
